Chapter 370: Grand Court Meeting

After the Lantern Festival, it is almost the end of the first month. As the old saying goes, the first month is the new year, but now time passes day by day, and in less than three or two days, the new year will really come. However, for the common people in the world, it does not make any difference whether it is a new year or not. Life is still going on like this. And the big shots in the divine capital finally got the show they wanted to see at the end of the first month. I don’t want to see the court meeting.

This is the first court meeting in Tianjian's fifteenth year, and it is also the first court meeting hosted by Emperor Liang himself. It is a rare court meeting. Officials in Shendu, regardless of their official positions, must participate in this court meeting.

Therefore, before dawn on this day, Chen Chao left the academy and came to Zuowei Yamen. For this court meeting, Zuowei commander Song Lian, as the chief officer of Zuowei, naturally had to participate in this court meeting, and as deputy commander Chen Chao, the emissary, also had to accompany him to the yamen. A yamen servant had already sent him the official court uniform. Although Chen Chao had not worn the court uniform, the Ministry of Rites would not make any mistakes. They had already measured Chen Chao's size. Although the navy blue official robe is a bit loose, fortunately, Chen Chao has a slender figure. Even wearing such a court uniform, he still does not look bloated. On the contrary, he has a different style. Song Lian, who is used to wearing casual clothes on weekdays, At this moment, suddenly wearing such a court dress seemed out of place.

He pulled it casually a few times, but he didn't care too much. Instead, he focused his attention on Chen Chao, nodded in appreciation and said, "It's really good-looking. Heroes come out of young men. It seems that it won't be long before your boy can truly have success in Daliang Chao." a place."

Chen Chao didn't have the time to think about these things, but hesitantly asked, "Dachao meeting? Why haven't I heard of it?"

As the commander of the left guard, Song Lian has a high official rank. He actually does not participate in court meetings on weekdays. However, this big court meeting is different from ordinary court meetings. It is only held a few times in almost a year, except for the one before the Spring Festival. Apart from that one, which is the first meeting in the spring, the Great Court Meeting is actually very troublesome. In the past, His Majesty the Emperor could not hold it at all. When the current Emperor ascends the throne, there will only be two meetings throughout the year. Most of the three major court meetings, and this one at the beginning of spring, will be specially canceled to avoid such trouble.

"If you think about it carefully, this grand court meeting in the spring of this year has not been held for at least seven or eight years in the past. Perhaps it is because His Majesty has something important to announce, so it is only held this year. But don't worry, our guardian envoys have always stood by In the corner, no one will pay attention."

As Song Lian spoke, he led Chen Chao out of the Zuowei Yamen and boarded the carriage.

The two sat opposite each other in the carriage. After the carriage drove forward a few streets, Chen Chao opened the curtain and saw many similarly dressed carriages slowly heading towards the imperial city.

Song Lian glanced at it and said casually, "It's hard to say how many officials there are in the capital of the gods, but there are at least several thousand people. Once a big meeting is held, the carriages of these officials alone will probably kill all the gods." If you block it, let alone Your Majesty, even I will find it troublesome."

Chen Chao looked at the slow-moving carriage with an unsightly look on his face. Especially when he reached for his waist and failed to touch the handle of the knife, he felt even more uneasy. He wanted to bring a knife with him to attend the court meeting. , I am afraid that even if Chen Chao becomes a figure like the Northern General, there will be nothing he can do.

Song Lian could see that the little guy sitting opposite was a little restless, so he took the initiative to comfort him and said, "Don't think too much. Can you die if you attend the court meeting? In today's court meeting, His Majesty is there, and there are also many great monks. The guardian envoy Your Excellency is here, don’t worry, you won’t die.”

Chen Chao nodded, but soon said helplessly, "I don't know what's going on. I feel like the knife is not around, but I just feel a little uneasy."

Song Lian laughed and said, "You guys are exactly the same as when I left the Northern Army. At that time, after I left the Northern Territory, I returned to the capital of God to be the commander of the left guard. I also had to hold a sword every night. I could only sleep with it in my hands. When I was on the Great Wall, God knows when those monsters would begin to attack the city. When the horn sounded outside the military tent, they would immediately pick up their swords and walk to the top of the city. That was really... that How do you say it?"

Chen Chao paused and said with a smile, "Be prepared for the danger."

Song Lian nodded fiercely, "That's what I mean, but after staying in Shendu for a long time, I got used to it. Although Shendu is not really peaceful, it is much better than the Great Wall in the north. It doesn't need to be done every day. I was worried and tied my head to my belt. I thought I was used to it, but this time I went back to the north and suddenly had to live like this again. Damn it, guess what? "

Chen Chao suddenly asked, "How are the monsters in the north different from the monsters in the country?"

Chen Chao had also killed monsters in Tianqing County for several years before, and he had a lot of dealings with monsters. He just thought that the monsters within the Liang Dynasty should be different from the monsters outside the country.

Song Lian nodded and said, "If one day you go to the Great Wall of the North and see those monsters, you will know that there is no comparison between the two. To be honest, if I were the guardian, I would throw you to the North. It’s a pity that the guard regards you as a treasure and doesn’t dare to let you die there.”

Chen Chao laughed it off.

Song Lian started talking again

Pulling off the official robe, I felt a little uncomfortable, but I said casually, "By the way, I'm going to get married to your sister-in-law. Why don't you find a day for us?"

"I'm not a magician on the street. Sir, can you please stop looking for someone to tell fortunes just to save a few bucks?" Chen Chao had a headache.

Song Lian waved his hand and said, "I don't believe that. I just saw that you helped me such a big favor, so I let you choose a day. Why are you bothering?"

Just as Chen Chao was about to speak, the carriage suddenly stopped suddenly and the carriage shook. Song Lian immediately asked, "What's wrong?"

The coachman's voice soon came in, "Sir, there is a fork in the road ahead, and there is a carriage that won't let us go. How about we let them go first?"

Song Lian frowned and was about to ask the coachman to give way, but before speaking, he happened to look along the curtain opened by Chen Chao. After seeing the mark on the carriage opposite, Song Lian asked with a gloomy face, "Should we go first?" Come?"

The groom hummed.

"Then what else should I give up? Move forward."

Song Lian waved his hands a little irritably, his mood obviously getting a little bad.

Chen Chao also noticed the mark on the carriage and asked hesitantly, "Is it Youwei's carriage?"

Song Lian snorted, "It's just that bastard Ye Dayuan. Damn it, do you think our left guard is easy to bully?"

The safety of the divine capital has always been guarded by two guards on the left and right. Each of the two guards guards half of the divine capital. The official ranks of the two parties are equal and they both obey the orders of the guard. They should have a good relationship, but it seems that Song Lian and the commander of the right guard are not. Bad relationship.

Chen Chao asked curiously, "Is there a gap between the master and the right guard?"

Song Lian shook his head and sneered, "Nothing else, I just have some grudges against Ye Dayuan, that bastard."

Chen Chao was a little curious, but Song Lian seemed unwilling to say more and only said one thing about Chen sesame and rotten millet.

Chen Chao stopped asking any more questions.

However, Song Lian didn't say much. At this moment, the carriages of the two parties refused to give way to each other. For a time, the carriages of officials from the two streets were blocked here. At first, the officials complained a little, but when they saw clearly who the two parties in front were, After leaving the carriages of Zuo Wei and Right Wei, they both closed their mouths in a sensible manner.

The right guard side is fine, but they really don't dare to mess with the left guard side. They used to hunt ghosts in Shendu in a mighty way, but they have already put everyone in danger. Now they really don't dare to take the initiative to get involved. Under Zuowei Yamen's nose, they are not people like Zaifu, so being targeted by Zuowei is not necessarily a good thing.

There were only two people sitting in the carriage over there, a middle-aged man with an ordinary face. Even though he was wearing formal court clothes, he actually looked like a farmer at the moment. This man was the commander of the right guard, Ye Dayuan.

The other thin middle-aged man is the current deputy commander of the right guard. Yao Dao glanced outside the carriage, then turned his head and said with some hesitation, "Commander Song is not willing to give in. Should we take a step back? Song?" The commander is now in front of the guardian, it is the red man, we..."

Ye Dayuan's face was expressionless, "I just want to suppress him and let him know that there is no difference between me and him."

Yao Dao smiled bitterly and reminded softly, "On the night of the Xia family, the guardian envoy didn't call our right guard."

That night, the big shots were actually looking at the situation in the Divine Capital, but small people like them actually saw what they could see. Anyway, they now understand one truth, that is, the two guards on the left and right of the Divine Capital today. The defender was obviously more interested in the left guard.

"Not to mention Commander Song, everyone knows that Chen Chao is the most important person in the eyes of the Governor at the moment. He is probably also on the carriage at this moment. Do you want to think about it again? "

Yao Dao looked at Ye Dayuan and advised him earnestly, "It's okay for us to fight for priority. If the news reaches the ears of the Guardian..."

Ye Dayuan's face was ugly, but he still said indifferently, "How has the guardian envoy ever taken care of such a trivial matter?"

Yao Dao stopped talking and remained speechless.

After a while, Ye Dayuan still waved his hand.

There are some things that he really wants to compete for, but it doesn't seem to be suitable at this moment.

Yao Dao was overjoyed and breathed a sigh of relief. Now at Youwei, he actually thinks about many more things every day than the commander Ye Dayuan.

"Give Way."

…

…

As the right guard gave in, this minor episode passed. The left guard's carriage kept moving forward, and finally arrived outside the palace gate. Then it drove into a special parking place, and the two of them walked out of the carriage. , they saw Ye Dayuan and Yao Dao behind them. Song Lian and Ye Dayuan looked at each other, the excitement in their eyes

The emotions were all different. He looked away, Song Lian looked at Chen Chao and said, "When you meet Ye Dayuan in the future, especially when you want to do things with him, remember to be more careful. This guy is a master who can stab you in the back. "

Chen Chao nodded and didn't ask any more questions. Anyway, he believed that Song Lian would not lie to him.

The two of them followed the courtier in front and walked toward the palace gate. However, the courtier in front seemed to move forward a few steps faster intentionally or unintentionally, and the courtier behind him took a few steps slower intentionally or unintentionally, so that the left guard was thrown away. The two of them were separated.

Song Lian looked up and down and joked, "It seems like you have offended these courtiers all over. They are a little afraid of you."

Chen Chao looked innocent, "I just followed the guardian envoy's wishes to catch a few ghosts. To be honest, who did he offend? It was the master from the academy. How could he offend them all?"

Song Lian laughed and scolded, "You kid really don't know or you are pretending that you don't know. A master in the academy has to be related to many courtiers. Fortunately, you had to keep him in prison before. Now I'm afraid he is." Most of the civil servants think that you are crazy and a mad dog. If you take the path of civil servants, you will be the end of the road. You will suffer the consequences of this officialdom. "

Chen Chao rubbed his cheeks and asked, "What should we do now? We can't ask the officials to kowtow to them and confess their guilt, right?"

Song Lian shook his head, "That's not necessary. In our line of guard envoys, promotions do not go through the official department. It is only the guard envoy who has the final say. If you become a guard envoy in the future, only His Majesty will be able to control you. Don't worry. , but I advise you to keep your tail between your legs in the city from now on. If those poor literati really want to write something to scold you, you can’t just kill them with a knife, can you?”

Chen Chao didn't know whether he heard it or not, but he just said to himself, "Xiaguan doesn't have any tail. If you want to scold people, they may not be Xiaguan's opponents."

Song Lian was in a daze, and then he remembered that Chen Chao, who first came to Shendu from Tianqing County, scolded the old woman outside Fang in the lobby of the Ministry of Punishment until she vomited blood.

Later, at the academy lakeside, this boy even made the students there speechless.

Speaking of swearing, this kid really doesn't seem to be afraid of anyone.

While the two were chatting, suddenly there was a red official robe waiting for the two of them among the courtiers in front.

Song Lian was startled, looked at the man, and raised his eyebrows slightly.

The man waited for the two of them to come to him, and then said with emotion, "We haven't seen each other for a long time, and now you two have become like rats on the street."

Song Lian laughed and didn't take it seriously.

The man looked at Chen Chao, smiled and said, "Long time no see."

Chen Chao quickly handed over his hand and said, "I have met Mr. Han."

The person in front of me is none other than Han Pu, the minister of Dali Temple who was responsible for trying the case of Chen Chao's murder of several Qigong practitioners. Speaking of which, if Han Pu hadn't been willing to help him delay the time, I'm afraid what would have happened to that case. Hard to say.

Han Pu walked side by side with the two of them and said with a smile, "Who would have thought that such an unusual-looking young man could really come out of my prison alive? Why, do you want to go and see it again now?" , revisit the old place?”

Chen Chao smiled wryly and waved his hand, "If possible, I would never want to set foot in a place like that in my life."

Han Pu smiled, but didn't say much. He just asked, "How are you with that girl now? Have you thought about when to get married?"

Chen Chao was startled. He never thought that Han Pu would ask about such a thing.

For a moment, I didn't even know how to answer.

Han Pu smiled and said, "I don't know how many young handsome men like Xie's talented girl. I even heard that many young generals in the north are interesting. Now that the war in the north has stopped, they may not be able to do it at some time." I have to come back and snatch this girl from you."

This is the truth. If a woman like Xie Nandu doesn't like Chen Chao, then Chen Chao also likes her. In fact, all the gods, including the prince and the descendants of the ministers, have intentional intentions.

"But I think that girl's temperament is unusual, and ordinary young people should look down on her. Being close to you, is there something special about you?"

Han Pu smiled and spoke. He didn't look particularly angry at the moment. He was just like an ordinary street corner uncle, chatting casually with Chen Chao.

Song Lian frowned and said, "He is still a child, what are you talking about?"

Chen Chao was also confused, but he vaguely felt that the words "outstanding" were not good words.

Han Pu smiled and said, "You have to grow up."

Song Lian snorted coldly and said no more.

Han Pu patted Chen Chao on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Today may be a little different. You are so happy to watch. This is your first court meeting. Study hard. Maybe you will be indispensable in every court meeting in the future."

After saying this, Han Pu quickened his pace and separated from the two of them.

Chen Chao was still a little confused and didn't quite understand Han Pu's sudden appearance.

And what do these words mean?

Is it a good relationship?

But it also seemed too rude and too direct.

Song Lian didn't take it seriously. There were only a few courtiers in the civil and military dynasty who could be called lonely ministers. Han Pu was one of them. He was famous for not forming factions or making friends. Even if he really thought Chen Chao was good , it is not easy for the two of them to talk to each other to this point. To become his friend is probably as difficult as becoming a guardian envoy.

The two of them quickly walked a lot in the imperial city. Finally, in front of a long corridor, the two of them walked towards the row on the left. In this row, they were all military attachés.

However, Chen Chao soon saw a familiar face in front of the team.

Chamberlain Li Heng.

This chamberlain, who was most trusted by the Emperor of Liang, was in charge of all matters in the palace. Even the courtiers with some status in the court had to call this chamberlain "Eunuch Li" with great respect. No one expected that this time He would actually appear here in person during the great court meeting.

Song Lian kept his eyes straight and followed the team forward, but Chen Chao found that Li Heng was sizing him up.

Li Heng's eyes were soft and without any sharpness. Chen Chao smiled at him, and the latter smiled back, but when the two passed by, there was no communication.

After passing through this corridor, the civil and military officials stopped talking. Now that they were about to arrive at the square in front of the imperial meeting, no one spoke anymore.

Extremely quiet.

…

…

When Chen Chao and Song Lian arrived at the square, as Song Lian said, the two of them and the other military officers of the garrison commander lineage were standing in the most remote corner.

However, as the ranks of officials were different, their positions were re-arranged. Song Lian, as one of the two highest-ranking officials of the garrison commander lineage after the garrison commander, naturally stood behind the garrison commander. Behind him was the commander of the right guard, Ye Dayuan, who looked quite unhappy, but at this moment the garrison commander was in front, so he naturally did not speak.

Chen Chao was originally going to stand in front, but after seeing the deputy commander of the right guard, he took the initiative to stop and let the other party go forward.

Yao Dao was startled, but he did not step forward, but lowered his voice and said, "Deputy Commander Chen is young and promising, and he should be in front."

Chen Chao glanced at the deputy commander Yao beside him and said modestly, "Lord Yao is a senior, and the junior dare not compete for the first place."

The two had the same official rank, and Chen Chao did not call himself a junior.

Yao Dao thought about it, but didn't continue to speak. He just walked past Chen Chao and stood in front of him.

Chen Chao didn't speak either. At this moment, he was just looking around. The grand court meetings were rare several times a year, and the officials around him might not be seen every day. Now he could remember a few of them, which was always a good thing.

As more and more officials came to the square, the huge square was almost full of people at this moment.

But in the front of the officials, the civil officials were naturally the prime minister, and the garrison commander occupied the head of the military officials, but the other row made an empty seat.

Chen Chao thought about it for a while, and knew that the position was for the general who had not yet returned from the northern border.

As officials came here one after another, the whole square became quiet.

The emperor of Daliang didn't like tediousness, so the grand court meetings were almost not held if they could be avoided, but if an official was ignorant and caused something on this day, the consequences would be very serious.

In the first few years after the Daliang Emperor ascended the throne, officials who did not know the etiquette during the grand court meeting were beaten to death in court.

People were naturally very cautious about such a matter that could kill people.

When all the officials arrived, the eunuch who was responsible for the roll call took the list and walked through one by one. After asking the names of each official, the statistics were completed.

Li Heng walked out of the hall, looked at the officials in the square, and shouted loudly, "Announce the Northern Border General Xiao Hezheng!"

Hearing this, all the officials in the square were shocked.

The Northern Border General, shouldn't he be guarding the Northern Border at the Northern Border Great Wall at this moment? Why is he back to the Divine Capital now?

The guard looked calm, as if he was not surprised by the news.

Chen Chao looked over there curiously, and was very curious about the only peerless warrior among the top three warriors of the Daliang Dynasty who had not been seen.

The other officials thought a lot in their hearts. They thought about many things that would happen today, but they didn't expect that the first thing would be the Northern Border General returning to the Divine Capital.

If the general returned to the capital, who would guard the northern border now?

If the demon tribe attacked again, would the northern border be able to be defended?

If today was not a grand court meeting, I am afraid that many court officials would come out to give advice.

——

Six thousand words